


our corner of the sky

by CapnJack



Series: our corner of the sky [1]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alya Fitzsimmons - Freeform, Canon Compliant, F/M, FitzSimmons - Freeform, Fluff, Spoilers for 7x13, with the lightest dusting of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2020-08-18
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:54:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25981678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CapnJack/pseuds/CapnJack
Summary: “We could really use you, you know.”Jemma hesitated, but only for long enough to glance at Fitz. He was so sure this was the right thing to do. And she agreed with him, she did. It was just – it was sad to say it out loud.“We’re out,” she said finally, offering a rueful smile.-/-A few missing moments in the year between defeating the Chronicoms and the epilogue. FitzSimmons fluff & a dash of the team to go with it.
Relationships: Leo Fitz/Jemma Simmons
Series: our corner of the sky [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1901371
Comments: 14
Kudos: 92





	our corner of the sky

**Author's Note:**

> the finale gave me a lot of Feelings, so I've dipped my toes into the AoS fandom to write them out. enjoy!

They’d only been waiting there for a few minutes, but already Jemma felt like she’d walked into a different world, only this time there were no quantum mechanics involved.

The Lighthouse looked somehow bleaker now, duller, once a hub of activity and energy that thrilled her, frightened her, drew her into the next great mystery needing to be solved for the good of the team and their work. That was years ago, now. For her. For everyone else, they had walked back into another day of work, but she and Fitz had made the Zephyr their home for so long that the Lighthouse felt alien now. A vision of a shared history that didn’t belong to her anymore.

At the other end of the room the door clanked open, and Yo-Yo slipped inside. She threw them all a happy, breezy grin which Jemma couldn’t help but return, before dropping into one of the available chairs. The conference room was the same hard, industrial grey that Jemma felt she had seen quite enough of after all this time, the only bright spots of colour being the remainder of the team all sat in silence around the table.

Nobody was speaking, but that was only because they didn’t need to say anything. The feeling of mutual fondness and respect was palpable; only Jemma could see Fitz’s leg jittering impatiently underneath the table. They had left Alya with Piper, but he was anxious to get back to her as soon as possible. Warmth bloomed in Jemma’s chest. She laid a gentle hand on his upper thigh, squeezing it reassuringly, and he halted the movement. Then he took her hand in his own, and laced their fingers together, flashing her a brief, dissatisfied smile.

She was ready to go home, too.

The door swung open again, and this time Mack clambered through the door. He looked smart, smarter than any of them had looked in a while (a brief sojourn into the 1930s in an alternate universe notwithstanding) with a long black overcoat that somehow made him look even taller. It felt like he had to duck inside the room before taking a seat, and just from how impressive he seemed Jemma knew what he must have decided. It brought forth a swell of complicated emotions she wasn’t really sure how to process.

Fitz squeezed her hand. She squeezed back.

“Alright, so here we are,” Mack started, looking at each of them in turn warmly. “Thank you for coming.”

“You don’t have to thank us,” May replied, and she was right. He shouldn’t have even needed to ask. “What’s the state of things?”

Mack let out a long breath, rubbing a hand across his chin. Eventually he answered. “SHIELD still needs a leader – and I’ve decided I’m going to keep doing that. We were doing good work, before Izel and the monoliths and the Chronicoms. The Earth still needs protecting, and I still believe in everything SHIELD was built for.” He glanced across the table at Yo-Yo, who was nodding along. “Yo-Yo too.”

She threw him a wry smile. “Only if you let me call the shots from time to time.”

“As if I’d have it any other way,” Mack grinned, before turning back to the rest of them. He spread his hands. “So. You know I would have all of you back in a heartbeat. Who wants in?”

“Me,” Daisy said immediately, nodding. “Definitely. SHIELD is my family. Whatever you need, Mack, I’ll be here every step of the way.” She cleared her throat. “And, uh, I’m sure Sousa would stay too. If you asked.”

Coulson arched his eyebrows. “I’m sure he would.”

Daisy smiled despite herself, the colour rising in her cheeks as she waved him off. “ _Stop_.”

“I’ll stay too,” May cut in, clasping her hands on the surface of the table. “I’d like to continue what Benson and I started.”

The new SHIELD Academy. Jemma thought fondly back onto her time there, before it had all been dismantled before their very eyes – SHIELD might have been flawed, infiltrated from the ground up by HYDRA, but the Academy had given her some of her most cherished memories. It had given her confidence, purpose; a place she could make a difference in Coulson’s team. And most importantly, it had given her Fitz. It would do the world good to have a place like that back in it, and with May at the helm it was bound to succeed.

Mack seemed to be in total agreement. “Thank you,” he said, nodding. “I think that’s a great idea.” Finally, he turned toward her and Fitz, and although she tensed, a little uncertain, Fitz remained as steadfast as always. He didn’t have a single doubt about their decision, and it showed. Mack carried on. “So, what about you two?”

“We’re out,” Fitz replied immediately, decisively. It didn’t leave much room for argument.

Mack sighed, but it didn’t look like Fitz’s response had surprised him. He turned to Jemma to make a final appeal.

“We could really use you, you know.”

Jemma hesitated, but only for long enough to glance at Fitz. He was so sure this was the right thing to do. And she agreed with him, she did. It was just – it was sad to say it out loud.

“We’re out,” she said finally, offering a rueful smile.

The ripple of acceptance that went around their circle was only broken by Daisy, and Jemma felt her heart tighten in her chest at the crestfallen look her friend was giving her.

“That thing Enoch said – about us all never being in the same room together again. That doesn’t have to be true. Look at us.” 

“It already is,” Fitz replied, gesturing around with his free hand. “Where’s Deke?”

Yo-Yo smirked. “Awh, he finally won you over, didn’t he?”

“A heroic sacrifice – twice – will do that,” Coulson added.

“I’m not saying I _miss_ him,” Fitz retorted, but Jemma knew the harshness in his tone was forced. Deke was more than just a nuisance, to both of them. “Just stating facts.”

Jemma felt the familiar twinge of regret when she imagined him in the other timeline, alone. Again. It filled her with an overwhelming urge to leave the table and return to Alya’s side.

“But apart from Deke,” Daisy insisted, “all of _us_. We’re here, we’re safe, the badass OG Agents. The mission isn’t over.”

She could understand where her friend’s hurt was coming from. “Daisy…” she began gently, but Fitz cut across her.

“It’s never over, is it? SHIELD, the end of the world, cataclysmic event after cataclysmic event. Well, Jemma and I have a new mission now, one that’s far more important. Alya.”

“We’ll stay in touch,” Jemma hurried to assure them, smoothing over the bite in Fitz’s tone. “And for emergencies, we’ll –” Fitz fixed her with a hard look, and she knew what he meant by it. If they were going to draw this line, they had to make sure the boundaries were clear. They wanted Alya as far away from any danger as possible. “Well,” she caught herself, nodding firmly. “It would have to be a _real_ emergency.”

She hoped the resoluteness of their decision would not be misconstrued at all – she knew Fitz almost seemed angry, but it wasn’t directed at any of their friends. It was just that familiar wave of frustration at the string of circumstances that always inevitably led to a separation between them at SHIELD. He’d had a taste of a life without that worry, a slice of the universe that was theirs alone orbiting a star, and he refused to go back to the prior order of things. Jemma too. Alya was their everything, and what was important was being with her.

It was just a shame it meant giving up on the work she still believed in; doing what was right and protecting innocent people. She still wanted that, but she wanted her husband and her daughter more. There was no real choice to make.

“You deserve this,” May said quietly, and a murmur of agreement went around the table. “You’ve earnt it.”

“You saved our asses, again,” Coulson added with a touch of amusement, “and once again, I still haven’t fully grasped how the hell you did it.”

The wave of laughter at this familiar branch of conversation had the immediate effect of relieving the tension as everyone hurried to talk over each other and explain to Coulson, for the umpteenth time, just how they had managed to defeat the Chronicoms.

“Piper and Flint guarded the containment module –”

“—Fitz read the timestream using –”

“—And when we went _subatomic_ , we –”

“Alright, alright, enough,” Coulson waving a hand to make them stop. “Too much science. I have a hard enough time understanding some of the things in my own head these days.”

Coulson had slowly come to terms with his status as an LMD/Chronicom hybrid, which included his newfound comprehension of high concept schematics and computer programming, but the basis of much of that knowledge in theory still eluded him – he knew instinctively _how_ to do something, but not why it would work. Although privately, Jemma was sure he was exaggerating how little he understood their use of the quantum tunnel and the time loop just to keep them smiling.

“So what about you, Coulson?” Daisy asked, the brightness in her tone sounding only a little false – she didn’t want to lose anyone, but she understood why the decision was right for them. “Are you – staying –?”

“Switched on?” Coulson offered wryly.

Daisy winced. “I didn’t mean that.”

“I know,” he said warmly, “it’s okay. I’m not really sure yet.” He glanced at Mack. “For now, I’d like to stay, help with the rebuilding, if you’ll have me.”

“Of course,” Mack replied.

Coulson shrugged. “Just… take things as they come, I guess.”

“That’s all any of us can do,” May added.

“And hey,” Yo-Yo interjected, pointing two fingers at Jemma and Fitz, “if you two ever need a babysitter… I’m sure I can keep up with little Stardust.”

“I’ll second that,” Coulson agreed.

Daisy locked eyes with Jemma, and Jemma felt all the warmth and love radiating from them. She was sad, but she understood. And being apart like this didn’t mean they would never see each other. Things would be different, but they would be okay.

“Me too,” Daisy added. “She is gonna _love_ being Quake-Sat.”

“Thank you,” Fitz replied. “Really. You’re all welcome any time.”

A momentary pause settled over the group, unsure what else there would be to say – they had drawn their lines, who would stay and who would go, and Enoch’s prophecy hung heavily over them. They were missing Deke, yes, but that didn’t mean that sometime in the future they couldn’t all come together, and celebrate his memory. Here their paths diverged, but she was sure they would cross over again. They had been through too much together to let it all go.

Coulson cleared his throat. “So, where exactly have you two settled on living?”

Jemma and Fitz shared a look, and Fitz’s mouth curled up in a smile before turning to the rest of the group.

“We’ll be giving that information out on a strictly need-to-know basis,” he said.

“For now,” Jemma agreed with a grin, squeezing his hand, “it’s classified.”

-/-

 **Daisy:** totally going back 2 space!! Gna hit up kitson and get sousa tripping balls in no time

 **Simmons:** as if you could convince Agent Sousa to do anything so reckless!

 **Simmons:** … and wildly euphoric

 **Daisy:** you don’t know what i can convince sousa 2 do ;) euphoria’s the word

-/-

“Daisy texted again,” Fitz called, lifting his gaze from his work to Jemma’s phone buzzing across the desk.

“Oh?” Came his wife’s voice from the other room. “What did she say?”

“Absolute filth,” Fitz muttered, but despite himself couldn’t help but chuckle. “Poor Sousa.” Louder, he added. “You didn’t say she was going to space.”

“What was that?”

“Daisy – to _space_!” Fitz yelled back. “Is she allowed to talk to you about stuff like that?”

Jemma marched back into their makeshift lab to retrieve her phone, a rolled-up blanket and a stuffed monkey toy held under each arm.

“I’m sure she is, Fitz, or she wouldn’t have said anything.” The phone buzzed a few more times in her hand, and she laughed as she skimmed through the messages. Fitz watched her expectantly, waiting for her to fill him in, but once she realised he was staring she immediately became defensive. “What? I thought you didn’t want to know what SHIELD were up to.”

“I don’t,” he insisted, “but if our friend is going to outer space and you know about it, I like to think you’d tell me.”

“Maybe it’s classified,” she teased.

“Oh, _don’t_ start.”

“Only clearance level orange –”

Fitz groaned. “For the love of –”

“— _Orange and above_ , in fact, get to know about Daisy’s galactic adventures.”

Fitz stood abruptly and wrapped his arms around her waist, hauling her back into his front while she yelped in surprise.

“I’ll show you _clearance level orange_.”

“Fitz – _Fitz_ ,” Jemma laughed, pushing at his arms while he pressed a kiss into the base of her neck. “Could you actually help get Alya down for the night? It’s the branch outside her window again, it keeps startling her when the wind moves it.” Reluctantly, Fitz released her. “I think we’ll need to cut the tree back, at this point I’m not sure what else to try. She isn’t growing accustomed to it like we’d hoped.”

Fitz sighed. “Yeah, well, she did spend the first four years of her life on a plane in deep space, so nature is going to take some getting used to.” He held out his hand, and Jemma obligingly surrendered the monkey and the blanket.

“Oh,” Jemma said suddenly, only that moment fully taking in the machinery atop the workstation in pleased surprise. “Davis is coming along nicely. Is that his positronic cortex?”

“I – yeah. Actually, I’ve been trying to improve his auditory sensors. Might add an extra dynamic to their friendship if Davis could hear all the insults Piper hurls _under_ her breath too.”

“Don’t make trouble,” Jemma warned, but any real threat in her tone was belied by the smile she couldn’t hold back. “We owe her.”

Fitz nodded, scratching behind his ear. “I know, I know.” He paused for a moment, just as Jemma’s phone buzzed again and she lifted it to read the incoming text.

Much as it had for weeks, something swelled – something restless and stubborn and loud. It made him want to move his hands. Or hug Alya close. He reached for one of the soldering irons and needlessly recalibrated its settings.

While he initially resisted, eventually he couldn’t hold back the question any longer. “Will, uh, will Daisy be in space long?”

Jemma let the phone drop to her side, letting out a withering sigh. “ _Fitz_ –”

“Nope, forget it, forget I asked. I don’t even care. Who’s Daisy?”

Jemma leaned forward so she could press a lingering kiss to his cheek.

“You can’t have it both ways, Fitz. Now please go check on Alya.”

After a final brief kiss Fitz obliged, stepping past her and out of their makeshift lab, trying to banish all thoughts of space from his mind before heading up the stairs to Alya’s bedroom. There had been little debate about where their little girl would sleep, the moment Alya had seen the huge bed and the arched ceiling she had fallen instantly in love with the upstairs room, but early on it had become clear the sheer amount of open space was still a little overwhelming for her from time to time. She had grown up in a bunk on the cramped Zephyr, had known no other space except the dark walls of the aircraft, so while she was as eager as any fledgling scientist to explore her new environment, sometimes she was as timorous as any four-year-old lifted away from everything she knew.

“Hey, monkey,” he said softly, nudging the door open.

Although he didn’t immediately spot her shock of electric blond hair, he was fairly certain the conspicuous looking lump buried under the duvet might be the monkey in question. Fitz glanced at the window and spotted the branch swaying up and down, the shadow it cast mimicking its movement in a spindly (and admittedly, creepier) fashion.

Fitz perched on the end of the bed, and nudged at the motionless form under the covers gently. “Hey. Mummy says you’re still a wee bit scared of that tree outside.”

“ _No_ ,” came the resolute response from within.

“You’re not?” Fitz feigned surprise. “Wow. Well I am. Could you come out and help Dadda feel a bit braver?”

A tuft of hair and two eyes peeked out of the corner of the duvet. Fitz lay down the blanket and the stuffed monkey, and nodded for her to come and sit on his lap. With a furtive glance at the window, Alya clambered out from underneath the covers and buried her face into Fitz’s chest as his arms went around her. Gently, he rested his cheek on the top of her head, and allowed himself a long moment to breathe her in. Their perfect sprinkle of stardust. He felt instantly calmer. It was impossible to give anything close to a rat’s ass about SHIELD when he had her so close.

“I don’t know about you,” he sighed, “but I feel better already.”

Alya fidgeted in his lap, fisting her hand into the front of his shirt. “I’m _not_ scared,” she insisted.

“Oh, of course,” Fitz assured her. “You’re far braver than me.” He brushed a few strands of hair back from her forehead. “But, you know, if you _were_ scared – that would be okay.” He tugged her a little closer. “Being scared is jut what happens when you don’t fully understand something yet. And that’s what science is for – that’s what science _is_.” The mention of science made per perk up a little, as it always did; she had learnt her enthusiasm for it from both of them, and in her desire to emulate them often insisted she, too, wanted to be a scientist. “It’s a little bit of scared, and then a _lot_ of discovery, which makes all the scared go away.”

Well, not entirely true. There was plenty enough in science to be frightened of. He had learnt that the hard way.

But she didn’t need to know that – not yet. He wanted her to look at life and the universe the way he had, before HYDRA and the ocean and the Framework. Back when it was excitement and experimentation, and one half of a perfect partnership with Jemma Simmons.

“I’m going to _be_ a scientist,” Alya reminded him, tugging on the front of his shirt.

“Yeah?” he grinned. “And are you going to be an _awesome_ quantum physicist or a _boring_ biologist like Mummy?” Alya giggled at the familiar tit-for-tat he and Jemma had developed, each teasingly trying to sway their daughter to their respective specialisations. “Blugh, _plants_ , gross. _Bodies_. Yuck.”

He blew a raspberry, and Alya delightedly mimicked the gesture.

“How about you and me and Mummy go out tomorrow and discover more trees? I _think_ ,” he continued conspiratorially, “that might help me stop being so scared of them.”

Alya mulled over this proposal, as if truly contemplating whether to commit to spending the time helping Fitz – and whether she could secretly use this as an opportunity to work on her _own_ fears. Alya was passionate about her independence, and often took better to suggestions if she felt she was the one going out of her way to help somebody else, rather than the other way around.

That, Fitz knew, was all Jemma.

A broad, enthusiastic smile bloomed. “Okay.”

Fitz made a noise of agreement and squeezed her a little tighter to him before releasing her. “Alright, monkey. Ready for bed?”

She nodded, and Fitz helped her climb back under the covers, settling her in with the stuffed monkey toy and tucking the extra blanket around her chin. After dropping a soft kiss to her forehead, he made to leave but paused as she called out to him again.

He stopped with his hand on the door. “Mm?”

“I – I was a _little_ scared.”

A little scared, maybe, but also completely perfect, and wonderful, and real.

Fitz smiled. “I won’t tell if you don’t.”

-/-

 **Daisy:** i’d feel better having you with me

 **Daisy:** give lil ziggy stardust my love

 **Daisy:** and fitz too

-/-

Jemma bit her lip, mulling over her response. She typed, erased, and retyped a message at least three times.

_If you need any—_

_Feel free to—_

She let out a long breath. She felt no real desire to go back into deep space; it was fraught with dangers they had barely begun to comprehend in the year that they were out there looking for Fitz – but those dangers were exactly the reason she wasn’t so keen on whatever assignment was sending Daisy back out there. The fact that she would have no information regarding where her friend was going, or for what purpose, only added to a steadily mounting sense of anxiety.

It was difficult to explain to Fitz. He had a tendency to take it personally if she spoke wistfully of anything to do with SHIELD, of their life before, when there was really no need for it. She loved _this_ life too, more than anything, but it was often difficult to reconcile it with the fact that their friends were still putting themselves on the front line every single day. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that she had earnt this epilogue, this fade-to-black ending away from the unending mission to save the world, but that didn’t always make her feel completely ready to let go of everything that came before.

-/-

 **Simmons:** You’ll have Agent Sousa, and Kora. But stay in touch. Remember to be safe.

 **Daisy:** sure

 **Daisy:** safe as life!

-/-

It wasn’t long before Fitz slid into bed behind her. He was still dressed, she could feel the buttons of his shirt pressing against her back, but she hardly cared once his arms wound tightly around her. He pressed a brief kiss to the space behind her ear, before letting out a long, contented sigh.

“Our daughter is perfect.”

“Tell me you didn’t promise her another monkey.”

Fitz snorted. “I am shocked and appalled you would even suggest it.” He paused. “But we should totally get her another one regardless.” 

Jemma hummed in agreement, allowing herself to relax into the feeling of him around her. This, she was sure, would never get old. She would never get tired of knowing he was near her, knowing he was _safe_ , of hearing him tell her he loved her in more than just words; in the act of staying, in his unending patience with Alya, in every tiny home improvement he developed in their lab that they knew was just a way to keep his hands busy.

You couldn’t polish perfection, but Fitz would never stop trying.

His thumb brushed across the curve of her stomach, an unconscious action meant to relax her; which was how she knew his thoughts must have taken a disquieting turn.

“Six months,” Jemma murmured. “She thinks.”

Fitz lifted his head so he could look down on her profile. “Sorry?”

“Daisy,” she continued. “How long she’ll be in space. And she’ll have Agent Sousa and Kora with her.”

“Jemma,” Fitz began, sighing. “I told you, I don’t –”

“Fitz.”

He was quiet for a long time, which was how she knew she had been right about the source of his introspection.

Finally, the tension melted out of him, and he pressed a soft kiss into her shoulder. “Thank you.”

Jemma knew she grappled with their decision to leave active duty behind more than Fitz did – but that didn’t mean he never felt its pull. Especially where the safety of their friends was concerned. Every single day the fight went on without them, and the best they could hope for was that they all made it to another sunrise. 

Jemma shut her eyes. She thought of Alya.

They were doing the right thing.

_Weren’t they?_

Fitz hummed quietly, nuzzling his nose against her neck. “In the interest of fairness, I should let you know I reminded Alya that biology is the absolute worst.”

Jemma laughed, lacing their fingers together.

They were. Of course they were.

“That’s alright,” she told him. “I’m playing the long game.”

**Author's Note:**

> thus ends my first attempt at writing for FitzSimmons. this was sorta fun - could possibly see it continuing if there's interest, but in any case, I'm so happy my bbs got their happy ending <3 let me know what you thought!


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